The present invention concerns cooking grills that operate by burning pelletized fuel that is supplied to a burn chamber by an electrically operated conveyor.
Barbecue grills that burn pelletized fuel, commonly referred to as “pellet grills,” have an advantage over other types of barbecue grills in that pellet grills can be operated for an extended period of time and at a low temperature, which cooking at low temperature is referred to as “smoking.”
Pellet grills may include a mechanical pellet feed mechanism to convey fuel pellets from a hopper into a fire pot at the bottom of the grill. An advantageous feed mechanism includes an electrically powered auger that is controlled by a thermostat. Some pellet grills include an electric igniter rod to ignite the pellets. The fuel pellets typically are made of compressed hardwood sawdust.
The usefulness of automated pellet grills has been limited in that connection to the electrical grid has been needed to provide sufficient electrical power to operate a motor that drives a mechanical pellet feed mechanism. Automated pellet grills therefore are not well suited for use in remote locations.